| Author | Message | ||
     Ann Flickinger New member Username: annflickinger Post Number: 28 Registered: 09-2005 Rating: N/A |
My 8 month old wether was disbudded as a baby and then by September he had small horns growing, neither looked complete, but still were growing beyond button size. I had him dehorned in September and it was rather nasty. He struggled under sedation while it was being done and one side had opened up the sinus just a little. After the dehorning the vet gave one antibiotic shot and said that was all he needed. In a few days he had a smelly infection and was on antibiotics for 5 days. Now he has very tiny hard pieces forming, but they almost feel like hard skin rather than how his horns felt and are fleshy colored (instead of black like his horns were). Are his horns growing back or will he just get a little piece that won't amount to anything to worry about? I used to have a wether that had a little piece of horn that in 4 years didn't really grow into anything more than a hard horny knob on his head, which was not dangerous to anyone or his buddies. I really don't look forwrd to doing the dehorning again, but will if I have to. When I had the dehorning done, my brother who has assisted in cow dehornings said that he never saw such a largely burned area and felt that the vet may not have done it properly or the dehorning iron was too large (new vet so I thought it may be possible). Can you provide me with some dehorning details, such as what the area should look like afterwards and really how far around the horn base the burning normally is and questions I should ask the vet? | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 192 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A |
He is likely growing scurs, that's what these little pieces of horn are called. Most male goats that are dehorned late or poorly grow some scur. It would be expected if he was being dehorned that the sinuses would be opened to be sure enough of the hornbed was removed to prevent further growth. He may be having a bit of bony regrowth but it doesn't sound like it will be much of a problem. My rule is that if the scurs wiggle they will continually break off or can be easily trimmed and not be much of a problem. If they are large, point straight up and don't wiggle I redo the dehorning. If they are flesh covered lumps this is probably just his skull growing back to fill in the holes that were left. it won't ne even and smooth and may always appear a bit lumpy, higher on one side that the other... Never let a vet give just one antibiotic shot, especially if they are going to charge you for it. It is a waste of your money and nearly useless (as you found out). Bacteria take time to grow, by the time the bacteria were at a level to cause a problem the one antibiotic shot was well out of his system. Always give antibiotics for a full course of 5 to 7 days. This also helps to prevent creating antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. I would definitely give antibiotics for a full course following dehorning, it is never a clean operation no matter how hard you try to disinfect the area. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 193 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A |
For a good picture of a freshly disbudded kid go to http://fiascofarm.com/goats/disbudding.htm There is a disbudding iron sized for goats and this should be the one that is used, not one sized for calves. The one for goats is about 3/4 inches in diameter... Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Ann Flickinger New member Username: annflickinger Post Number: 30 Registered: 09-2005 Rating: N/A |
Thank you for all this great information. I have to say that the iron that I watched being used on my 5 month old at the time was 2" in diameter, must have been a cow size. poor kid. I will be watching his scurs, because they do seem almost like I could pick them off and are movable. Thanks again! I really appreciate it. I can be your worst nightmare when it comes to questions, but I have another. How long do goats grow? My youngsters are 8 and 10 months and I was just wondering if they are going to be growing for a while longer. Both look like they should be larger and every day seem to get bigger, but I really don't know when they will reach full height. Are there any guidelines? One is an 8 month old Nubian and he is about 87 lbs. and the other is a 9 month old 3/4 Nub. and 1/4 Boer and he is about 105 using wieght calculation measurements. These boys are my babies so I try to learn as much as I can. Neither are fat and and just have a nice little roundness. | ||
| Barbara Howard Advanced Member Username: bhoward Post Number: 12 Registered: 08-2005 Rating: N/A |
Hi, Goats grow until around 4 years of age. The weight that you have on this sounds about right. Barbara Howard jamesa@mrtc.com 606-522-3388 KY | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 195 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A |
Goats are fully mature at 4 years old and don't really reach full size until then. They get most of their height by 30 to 36 months (2.5 to 3 years). So these are just babies barely started growing. They should both reach about 250 pounds maybe more. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic | ||
| Ann Flickinger New member Username: annflickinger Post Number: 31 Registered: 09-2005 Rating: N/A |
I had no idea they grow for so long. Now I know why I thought my Togg was getting taller even after he passed his 2nd birthday. I look forward to seeing how big the youngsters get. Thanks for this information about gowth and about the horns. | ||
| Maggie Leman Moderator Username: maggieleman Post Number: 247 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A |
Yep the males in particular mature more slowly. Yearling bucks are still just kids in my eyes, I never make a real judgement on his quality until he is at least 3 years old and by then I have usually seen some kids of his too. Wethers are the same of course but you aren't going to be seeing any of his kids huh?! I have to remind pygmy owners that their tiny yearling buck is not even half grown and barely knows he's a buck. Does grow alot the second year and seem to reach maturity a bit quicker at about 3 years old or so. Maggie Leman Goat 911 Capri Medic |